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STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT. 


PROBABLY  no  episode  of  the  late  civil  war  is  really  so  little  understood 
as  that  famous  attempt  to  disable  the  Confederate  works  near  Wilmington, 
in  1864,  known  as  the  "Powder-boat  Expedition."  Its  details  have  hitherto 
been  known  to  but  few,  and  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher,  the  capture  of  Wilmington, 
and  the  other  triumphs  of  1865,  crowding  so  fast  upon  each  other,  naturally 
distracted  the  public  mind  from  all  preceding  unsuccessful  experiments. 

One  of  the  small  number  to  whom  the  execution  of  this  dangerous  experi- 
ment was  intrusted,  uttered  his  last  words  when  he  rallied  his  men  at  the  pali- 
sades on  Federal  Point,  and  shed  his  blood  at  the  final  stronghold  of  the  rebel- 
lion. Those  who  survive,  and  among  them  is  the  gallant  commander  of  the  ex- 
pedition, have  been  content  to  keep  silence,  while  false  tongues  spoke  ;  and,  se- 
cure in  the  high  honor  awarded  them  by  their  comrades  of  the  navy,  they  trust 
to  history  to  tell  her  "round  unvarnished  tale"  of  truth. 

But  the  justice  of  history  is  tardy,  and  often  does  not  come  until  the  men 
who  need  it  have  slept  for  years  that  quiet  sleep  which  recks  so  little  of  the 
world's  renown.  In  view  of  the  determined  silence  of  those  who  could  best  tell 
the  story  of  this  experiment,  the  writer  of  this  article  will  essay  it.  It  was  not 
his  fortune  to  be  one  of  those  selected  as  the  crew  of  the  powder-boat ;  but  his 
opportunities  for  observing  the  details  of  the  expedition,  from  beginning  to  end, 
were  such  as  few  beyond  the  actors  in  the  scene  enjoyed.  He  believes  the  fol- 
lowing to  be  a  careful  and  accurate  narrative  of  the  conception,  preparation  and 
execution  of  this  remarkable  project,  from  which  so  much  was  expected  and  so 
little  realized. 

Attempts  to  destroy  hostile  shipping  by  means  of  fire-ships  have  been  com- 
mon in  naval  warfare  ;  but  history  records  but  one  instance  of  the  use  of  a 
powder-boat  in  such  experiments,  prior  to  the  Fort  Fisher  explosion.  This 
single  precedent — an  attempt  gallant  but  also  unsuccessful — is  to  be  found  in  our 
own  annals.  A  short  narrative  of  the  affair  may  prove  a  good  introduction  to 
the  present  article. 

In  1804,  Commodore  Preble,  commanding  the  blockading  squadron  off  the 
harbor  of  Tripoli,  resolved  to  make  the  endeavor  to  destroy  the  enemy's  ship- 
ping by  means  of  a  powder-ship,  or  "infernal."  For  this  purpose,  he  prepared 
the  ketch  Intrepid,  which  had  been  formerly  used  by  Decatur  in  his  attempts  on 
the  Philadelphia.  A  small  room  was  planked  up  in. her  hold,  just  forward  of 
the  main-mast,  and  in  it  was  stowed  one  hundred  barrels  of  powder,  in  bulk. 
From  this  a  trunk  or  tube  led  aft  to  another  room,  which  was  filled  with  splinters 
and  lightwood.  The  tube  contained  a  train  of  powder,  which  was  to  be  fired  by 
the  flames  from  the  fire  in  the  after-room,  and  which  communicated  with  the 
fuses  leading  into  the  powder. 

On  deck,  immediately  over  the  magazine,  were  stowed  fifty  thirteen-and-a- 
half-inch  shells,  and  one  hundred  nine-inch ;  together  with  loose  shot,  kent- 
ledge, and  fragments  of  iron. 

Captain  Richard  Somers  commanded  the  Intrepid,  and  Lieutenant  Henry 
Wadsworth,  of  the  Constitution,  was  selected  to  assist  him.  Mr.  Joseph  Israel, 
a  midshipman,  contrived  to  smuggle  himself  into  the  boats,  as  they  were  putting 
off  for  the  powder-ship. 

The  night  of  September  4th  was  chosen  for  the  execution  of  the  project,  and 
'     On* 


78  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  [Jan. 

the  Intrepid  started  into  the  harbor  about  eight  o'clock.  She  was  watched"  as 
she  passed  in  over  the  bar  by  anxious  eyes,  until  within  a  musket  shot  of  the 
mole.  At  this  time  the  enemy's  batteries  opened,  and  shortly  after  the  ketch 
exploded,  without  reaching  her  destination. 

In  all  probability  the  premature  explosion  was  caused  by  the  enemy's  shot ; 
but,  as  none  of  the  gallant  men  who  manned  the  Intrepid  ever  returned,  save  as 
ghastly  and  dismembered  corpses,  to  their  friends,  we  are  of  course  limited  to 
conjecture.  They  had  been  provided  with  two  fast-pulling  boats  in  which  to 
make  their  escape.  One  of  these  drifted  out  to  the  fleet,  with  a  single  dead 
body  in  it,  probably  that  of  the  boat-keeper.  The  other  boat  was  never  seen, 
and  the  bodies  afterward  recovered  were  utterly  unrecognizable. 

The  expedition  was  thus  an  utter  failure,  and  the  damaging  of  a  few  gunboats 
did  not  compensate  for  the  loss  of  such  men  as  Somers,  Wadswcrth,  Israel,  and 
the  brave  sailors  who  accompanied  them. 

With  this  brief  account  of  the  loss  of  the  Intrepid,  we  may  proceed  to  relate 
the  story  of  its  solitary  successor.  While  preparations  were  making,  in  1864, 
for  the  attack  on  Fort  Fisher,  it  occurred  to  General  Butler  that  if  a  large 
quantity  of  powder  could  be  confined  in  the  form  of  a  huge  torpedo,  and  ex- 
ploded close  to  the  works,  the  effect  of  that  explosion  would  be  the  destruction 
of  the  fort  and  garrison  and  even  of  the  neighboring  towns.  This  idea  was  sug- 
gested by  the  results  of  two  very  recent  explosions;  the  one  at  Erith,  in  Eng- 
land, the  other  at  City  Point  on  the  James,  in  the  close  vicinity  of  the  General's 
own  headquarters. 

In  October,  1S64,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Thames,  near  Woolwich,  two 
powder-magazines  and  two  barges  loaded  with  powder  exploded,  killing  and 
wounding  a  number  of  persons.  There  were  840  barrels  of  powder  in  the  two 
magazines,  and  200  barrels  in  the  barges.  The  latter  were  moored  at  the 
wharves.  The  total  quantity  qf  powder  exploded  was,  therefore,  about  104,000 
pounds,  or  about  46  tons.  The  two  magazines  were  135  feet  from  each  other,  on 
the  edge  of  the  river,  immediately  behind  the  dike.  The  barges  were  alongside 
the  wharves,  one  of  which  extended  120,  and  the  other  122  feet  into  the  river. 
Within  a  few  yards  of  the  magazines  were  three  cottages  occupied  by  the  work- 
men. The  magazines  and  cottages  were  the  only  buildings  within  a  mile  of  the 
disaster.  There  were  three  distinct  explosions  ;  the  first  on  board  the  barges, 
which  tore  asunder  the  large  magazine,  and  so  caused  the  smaller  one  to  ex- 
plode. Of  these  magazines  not  one  stone  remained  upon  another.  The  barges 
were  split  into  fragments  and  hurled  into  the  air.  The  embankment  was  de- 
stroyed, and  so  were  the  cottages  of  the  workmen.  No  damage,  other  than  the 
breakage  of  glass  and  windows,  was  done  outside  of  the  tract  of  twenty  acres  on 
which  these  buildings  were  situated.  The  shock  was,  however,  felt  more  or  less 
throughout  London,  distant,  at  the  nearest  point,  about  fifteen  miles  ;  and  some 
of  the  statements  sworn  to  before  the  coroner's  jury  make  the  distance  at  which 
the  shock  was  felt  as  great  as  forty  or  fifty  miles.  A  magazine  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  those  blown  up  was  uninjured,  although  a  piece  of  iron  was  thrown 
through  the  roof,  and  the  workmen  inside  of  the  magazine  were  prostrated  by  the 
explosion.  Another  magazine  lay  at  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  this 
one,  and  a  government  magazine  one  mile,  and  neither  received  injury. 

The  explosion  at  City  Point  took  place  on  board  an  ordnance  barge  moored 
alongside  the  wharf  at  that  place.  She  contained  about  eight  tons  of  ammuni- 
tion, a  part  of  it  in  boxes.  A  similar  boat  was  moored  to  her  off-shore  side. 
The  wharf  was  built  on  piles,  and  had  upon  it  a  wooden  store-house  of  one  story. 


1870.]  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  79 

About  three  hundred  feet  of  the  wharf  was  destroyed,  and  the  store-house  was 
blown  down.  Yet,  although  a  small  boat  with  several  men  in  it,  which  was 
alongside  the  outer  barge,  was  capsized,  none  of  the  men  were  injured.  A  loaded 
railroad  train  was  on  the  track  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  wharf,  and  the  en- 
gineer was  on  his  engine,  but  nothing  there  was  injured.  Across  the  railroad, 
about  165  yards  from  the  exploded  barge,  were  some  light  wooden  buildings,  sut- 
ler's tents,  etc.  All  of  these  were  blown  down,  or  so  much  injured  as  to  require 
to  be  torn  down.  Several  persons  were  killed  in  and  around  these  buildings  ; 
and  fragments  of  the  boat  sufficiently  large  and  having  a  velocity  sufficient  to  kill 
a  man,  were  thrown  to  a  distance  of  five  hundred  yards.  Those  persons  who 
were  killed,  were  not  killed  by  the  explosion,  but  by  the  projectiles  which  were 
thrown  about  by  its  force. 

But,  though  cited  by  General  Delafield  as  proofs  of  the  insufficiency  of  the 
explosive  force  of  powder  in  large  masses  to  destroy  heavy  structures  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  explosion,  the  foregoing  facts  seemed  to  General  Butler  to  justify 
his  reliance  on  the  effects  of  the  plan  proposed  by  him.  He  believed  that  by  it 
the  forts  at  Federal  Point  might  be  destroyed,  and  the  capture  of  Wilmington, 
or  at  least  of  the  two  entrances  to  Cape  Fear  river,  rendered  an  easy  task.  In 
November  he  communicated  this  idea  to  Admiral  Porter,  then  in  command  of 
the  North  Atlantic  Squadron.  That  distinguished  officer,  with  his  usual  prompt- 
itude, threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  the  affair.  He  did  not  anticipate  results 
as  terrible  as  those  looked  for  by  General  Butler.  He  more  nearly  agreed  with 
General  Delafield.  But  it  was,  said  the  Admiral,  "an  experiment  worth  trying." 
If  its  results  should  prove  as  great  as  were  anticipated,  it  would  revolutionize  op- 
erations against  harbor  defences.  The  fate  of  war  would  thereafter  "depend 
upon  which  of  the  combatants  possessed  the  greatest  amount  of  powder." 

Casting  about  him  for  the  best  means  to  prosecute  the  enterprise,  the  Admiral 
selected  from  his  fleet  an  old  war-worn  propeller  of  about  250  tons,  which  had 
long  been  employed  in  the  sounds  of  North  Carolina.  She  was  called  the 
Louisiana,  and  was  in  many  respects  admirably  suited  for  her  part  in  the  enter- 
prise. She  was  flat-bottomed,  and  drew  only  five  or  six  feet  of  water.  She  had 
done  good  service  in  the  shallow  waters  where  she  had  hitherto  been  employed, 
but  was  fast  becoming  worthless,  and  could  be  better  spared  than  a  better 
vessel.  It  was,  too,  a  fitting  end  for  the  old  war-worn  steamer,  that  she  should 
go  from  the  ranks  of  the  fleet,  not  into  the  degrading  servitude  of  some  specu- 
lating contractor,  as  an  old  race-horse  ends  his  days  in  a  cart ;  nor  even  into  the 
dull  but  honorable  retirement  of  a  navy-yard  hulk  ;  but  into  the  very  fore-front 
of  the  battle  ;  and  there  gloriously  expire  in  one  brilliant  flash  ;  slaying,  like 
Samson  of  old,  more  at  her  death  than  she  had  done  during  her  whole  life-time. 

The  Louisiana  was  accordingly  ordered  to  report  at  Hampton  Roads  ;  and, 
on  the  evening  of  the  30th  of  November,  she  arrived  in  that  harbor  from  New- 
bern.  She  was  a  slow  coach,  her  best  speed  being  about  six  knots  in  smooth 
water.  During  the  trip  from  Hatteras  Inlet  to  Cape  Henry,  she  was  with  much 
ado  kept  off  the  beach,  the  wind  drawing  partially  on  it.  On  her  arrival  she  was 
immediately  ordered  to  Norfolk,  where  her  officers  and  crew  were  transferred  to 
other  vessels,  and  gangs  of  workmen  at  once  commenced  transforming  the  man- 
of-war  into  a  torpedo.  Her  guns  and  masts  were  removed,  and  her  stores,  am- 
munition and  provisions  taken  out ;  a  house  was  built  on  her  upper  deck,  ex- 
tending forward  from  her  smoke-slack  (which  was  just  forward  of  the  officers' 
quarters)  almost  to  her  bow,  being  seventy  feet  in  length.  A  false  smoke-stack, 
made  of  hoops  and  canvas,  was  placed  forward  of  the  real  one ;  the  deck-house 


8o  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  [JAN. 

was  covered  with  canvas,  painted  to  prevent  leakage;  painted  canvas  screens 
closed  in  the  sides  and  side-lights  ;  and  she  was  then  whitewashed  all  over. 
Thus,  when  turned  over  by  the  navy-yard  authorities  to  the  ordnance  officers, 
she  was  as  fair  an  imitation  of  a  blockade-runner  as  could  be  desired,  and  one 
not  easily  detected  at  night. 

And  now  came  the  great  question  while  these  preparations  were  making — 
who  should  execute  this  plan,  so  easy  of  conception,  but  so  difficult  to  carry  to 
success  ?  For  obvious  reasons,  the  selection  of  a  commander  for  the  expedition 
devolved  upon  Admiral  Porter.  Having  but  lately  assumed  command  of  the 
squadron,  and  being  consequently  not  familiar  with  all  his  officers,  he  first  is- 
sued a  general  order  calling  for  volunteers  for  a  hazardous  duty,  stating  that  the 
chances  were  "  death,  or  glory,  honor  and  promotion."  He  was  deluged  with  ap- 
plications. Although  the  nature  of  the  service  for  which  they  were  required  was 
entirely  unknown,  volunteers,  from  commodores  to  master's-mates,  registered 
their  names  as  candidates  for  the  chance  of  getting  killed.  The  feeling  that  the 
Admiral's  brilliant  feats  in  the  West  had  inspired  in  the  hearts  of  all,  and  the 
natural  fancy  of  sailors  for  anything  that  was  at  the  same  time  hazardous  and 
mysterious,  made  the  list  a  large  one.  From  among  so  great  a  number  with  equa 
claims,  men  already  famous  at  Port  Royal,  New  Orleans,  Charleston  or  Mobile 
how  was  it  possible  to  select  ?- 

As  has  been  said,  while  the  crude  conception  of  the  plan  was  General  But- 
ler's and  while  the  preparation  of  the  explosive  power  was  the  work  of  the  Ord- 
nance Department,  the  execution  devolved  upon  the  Admiral.  He  had  many 
brave  men  in  his  command  :  how  many  had  he,  who  with  great  bravery  com- 
bined judgment,  and  with  courage  coolness  ;  who  would  not  risk  and  ruin  all 
for  the  sake  of  a  dashing  attempt  ;  who  would  intelligently  and  fearlessly  carry 
out  not  only  the  letter  but  the  spirit  of  their  instructions?  Many  who  fulfilled 
these  conditions,  yet,  from  their  age  and  rank  in  the  service  and  their  positions 
in  the  fleet,  could  not  be  spared.  The  admiral's  attention'soon  fixed  itself  firmly 
upon  an  officer  who,  for  brilliant  and  judicious  conception,  and  cool  and  daring 
execution,  had  made  his  name  famous  among  his  comrades,  and  had  gained 
flattering  encomiums  from  a  department  never  too  ready  to  praise. 

This  man  was  Commander  Alexander  C.  Rhind,  of  New  York,  at  this  time 
commanding  a  double-ender,  the  Agawam.  Commander  Rhind  had  already 
served  with  great  distinction  in  the  South  Atlantic  Squadron.  The  writer  was  a 
witness  to  his  gallant  attack  on  the  forts  of  the  Dawho,  in  South  Carolina,  when, 
in  a  little  tug-boat  (the  Hale),  he  engaged  the  enemy  ensconced  behind  their 
works,  drove  them  from  their  guns,  and,  immediately  landing  with  a  boat's  crew, 
destroved  the  forts,  spiked  and  otherwise  disabled  the  guns,  and  carried  away  all 
their  ammunition.  Being  obliged,  owing  to  his  vessel  grounding,  to  wait  until 
night-fall  for  the  rise  of  the  tide,  he  was  subjected,  on  his  return,  to  a  murderous 
plunging  fire  of  grape  and  canister  from  a  battery  on  an  overhanging  bluff.  But 
so  well  had  he  protected  his  men  by  hammocks  and  bags,  that,  though  his  decks 
were  badly  scarred,  he  rejoined  his  little  fleet  without  having  a  man  injured. 
Where  others  might  have  ordered  an  attack,  he  was  wont  to  lead  it  ;  and  he  there- 
by inspired  his  officers  and  men  with  such  enthusiasm  that  the  Edisto  river,  long 
a  stronghold  of  the  rebels,  became,  after  his  occupation  of  its  waters,  altogether 
too  hot  for  them.  The  sight  of  his  vessel  (and  an  old  rattle-trap  she  was)  com- 
ing up  the  river,  was  enough,  at  any  time,  to  scatter  the  foe,  and  to  render  the 
banks  of  the  Edisto  safe  from  its  mouth  as  far  up  as  there  was  water  enough  for 
his  vessel  to  float  in.  For  his  gallantry  at  the  Dawho,  he  received  the  written 
thanks  of  the  Navy  Department. 


1870.]  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  81 

The  Agawam  was  now  undergoing  extensive  repairs  at  Norfolk,  and  would 
not  be  ready  for  sea  in  time  to  share  in  the  proposed  bombardment  of  Fort  Fish- 
er. It  was  proposed  to  her  commander  to  take  command  of  the  Louisiana 
and  the  powder-party.  He  accepted  at  once,  and  set  about  his  preparations.  Ad- 
miral Porter  having  desired  that  Commander  Rhind  should  select  his  own  offi- 
cers and  crew,  he  chose  Lieutenant  Samuel  W.  Preston,  Second  Assistant  Engin- 
eer A.  T.  E.  Mullan,  and  Master's  Mate  Paul  Rj  der  as  officers  of  the  party,  and  the 
following  enlisted  men  he  selected  as  his  crew  :  Frank  Lucas,  coxswain  ;  William 
Garvin,  captain  of  the  forecastle,  Charles  J.  Bibber,  gunner's  mate  ;  John  Neil, 
quarter  gunner  ;  Robert  Montgomery,  captain  of  afterguard  ;  James  Roberts,  sea- 
man ;  Charles  Hawkins,  seaman;  Dennis  Conlan,  seaman:  James  Sullivan,  or- 
dinary seaman  ;  William  Hinnegan,  second-class  fireman  ;  and  Charles  Rice, 
coal-heaver. 

The  crew  were  all  volunteers  from  the  Agawam.  Mr.  Boyden  was  one  of  the 
Louisiana  while  she  was  in  service,  and  volunteered,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  to  see 
the  last  of  the  old  thing."  Mr.  Mullan  was  one  of  the  Agawam's  engineers,  and 
also  a  volunteer.  Mr.  Preston  had  but  just  returned  from  a  rebel  prison,  having 
been  captured  in  the  unfortunate  assault  on  Fort  Sumter. 

The  Louisiana  was  to  have  as  consort  a  fast  steamer,  which  was  to  tow  the 
vessel  in,  if  found  necessary,  pilot  her  to  her  destination  and  bring  off  her  offi- 
cers and  crew.  The  charge  of  this  vessel  and  her  movement,  under  his  direc- 
tions, was  committed  by  Commander  Rhind  to  Lieutenant  Roswell  H.  Lamson, 
commanding  the  Gettysburg,  and  Sub-Assistant  J.  S.  Bradford,  of  the  Coast 
Survey,  hydrogiapher  on  the  Admiral's  staff. 

While  the  officers  detailed  from  the  Ordnance  Office  were  engaged  in  load- 
ing and  preparing  this  monstrous  torpedo,  Admiral  Porter,  after  studying  the 
charts  of  the  vicinity  of  New  Inlet,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  how  near  the  works 
the  vessel  could  be  taken  without  grounding,  concluded  to  send  in  a  party  in  a 
small  boat,  to  find  and  trace  the  line  of  six  feet  at  low  water  along  the  beach. 
This  duty  was  entrusted  to  Mr.  Bradford,  who  proceeded,  with  a  boat  and  crew 
furnished  by  the  steamer  Wilderness,  to  New  Inlet  ;  but,  owing  to  the  very 
stormy  weather,  repeated  attempts  failed,  and  it  was  not  until  the  night  of  the 
17th  of  December  that  he  succeeded  in  getting  a  line  of  soundings  in  to  the  de- 
sired point.  On  a  W.  by  S.^S.  course,  he  struck  six  feet  at  an  estimated  dis- 
tance of  150  yards  from  the  beach.  Returning  to  Beaufort  (now  the  rendezvous 
of  the  fleet),  he  reported  his  success  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  December,  to  the 
Admiral  at  the  council  of  officers  convened  on  board  the  flag-ship.  At  the  same 
time  he  received  his  own  orders  to  be  prepared  to  guide  the  powder- vessel  in. 

For  the  Louisiana  was  now  "ready  for  action."  The  stowage  of  the  powder 
and  the  arrangement  of  the  means  for  exploding  it  had  been  committed  to  the 
charge  of  Major  Rodman,  of  the  Ordnance  Corps  of  the  Army,  and  Lieut.-Com- 
mander  Jeffers,  of  the  Navy.  The  vessel  was  taken  down  to  Craney  Island,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Elizabeth  river,  and  there  received  on  board  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  tons  of  powder,  which  was  stowed  under  the  superintendence  of  those  offi- 
cers. The  accompanying  plan  shows  a  longitudinal  section  of  the  powder  ves- 
sel, and  the  manner  of  stowing  the  powder. 

The  powder  was  first  stowed  in  the  berth-deck  in  5o)b.  bags,  filling  the  deck 
up  even  with  the  hatches.  Abaft  the  berth  deck,  between  it  and  the  boiler,  was 
an  after  hold  or  coal-bunker,  which  was  also  filled.  To  guard  against  damage 
by  leakage,  the  bunker  was  stowed,  first,  with  two  tiers  of  full  barrels,  having 
their  heads  knocked  out,  and  the  bags  were  piled  on  top  of  these  to  the  level 


82 


STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT. 


[Jan. 


of  the  spar  deck.     The 


IS 


sh: 


ffl 


nz 


^S 


balance  of  the  powder  was  stowed  in  the  deck-house, 
beginning  against  the  after  bulk-head,  and  occupying 
about  one-fifth  of  the  available  space.  To  the  amount 
in  the  deck-house,  the  naval  authorities  afterward  added 
thirty  tons,  in  Beaufort  ;  but  even  then  two  thirds  of  the 
house  remained  unfilled. 

This,  as  will  be  hereafter  shown,  was  a  very  grave 
error,  but  the  vessel  could  not  carry  more  with  safety 
than  the  two  hundred  and  fifteen  tons  now  in  her.  The 
fault  lay  in  the  calculations  of  the  projectors  of  the  en- 
terprise, that  a  vessel  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  could 
carry  three  hundred  tons  of  powder."  The  d«ck-house 
either  should  not  have  been  built  upon  her  at  all,  or 
should  have  been  made  very  much  smaller. 

To  explode  this  mass  of  powder  several  appliances 
were  adopted.  By  the  ordnance  officers  the  movements 
of  three  ordinary  marine  clocks  were  used.  First  re- 
moving the  faces  and  hands,  a  cylinder,  having  four  pins 
set  in  its  circumference  equidistant,  was  secured  to  the 
arbor  of  the  minute-hand.  As  these  four  pins  were  at 
equal  distances,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  space  between 
any  two  was  equal  to  fifteen  minutes.  The  clocks  were 
each  fastened  to  a  board  by  the  side  of  a  copper  tube  at 
the  bottom.of  which  was  fitted  a  common  musket-tube  (or 
a  shell-plunger)  capped  with  a  percussion  cap.  One  end 
of  a  piece  of  catgut  was  attached  to  a  grape-shot  of  two 
pounds  weight,  which  latter,  when  the  clocks  were  set, 
was  placed  at  the  top  of  the  tube.  The  catgut  was  then 
led  through  an  eye  on  the  board  just  above  the  tube,  and 
then,  by  means  of  a  loop  in  its  other  end,  was  hooked 
over  one  of  the  pins  in  the  clock  cylinder.  Of  course, 
as  the  revolution  of  the  cylinder  brought  this  pin  down- 
ward, the  loop  would  drop  off,  the  shot  would  fall,  and 
so  explode  the  cap.  With  this  cap  on  each  of  the  clocks 
was  connected  an  end  of  the  fuse  leading  through  the 
powder.  These  fuses,  according  to  the  plans  of  the 
ordnance  office,  were  laid  only  in  the  upper  and  outer 
layers  of  bags  in  the  deck-house.  Holes  were  bored  in 
the  deck  to  enable  the  fire  to  communicate  with  the 
powder  below.  Lieutenant-Commander  Jeffers  desired, 
at  first,  that  large  hatches  might  be  cut  in  the  spar  deck  ; 
but,  for  some  reason  unknown  to  the  writer,  was  induced 
to  abandon  the  idea,  and  bore  holes  instead. 

The  fact  that  the  fuses  were  not  led  through  the 
powder  in  the  coal-bunker  and  berth-deck,  seems  to  an 
impartial  observer  sufficient  to  account  for  the  non- 
explosion  of  the  vast  mass  of  powder  in  those  rooms. 
Mr.  Jeffers,  however,  in  his  testimony  (Fort  Fisher  Ex- 
pedition, page  255)  says  that  "the  theory  adopted  was, 
that  by  igniting  it  from  the  top  and  sides  the  lateral 


i87o.] 


STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT. 


83 


effect  would  be  increased."  The  question,  as  it  appears  to  us,  is,  Was  it  ignited 
at  all  ?  The  fuses  would  certainly  have  secured  the  certainty  of  ignition.  The 
accompanying  sketch  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  clocks. 

There  were  also  six  slow  matches,  provided  by  Major  Rodman  with  as  many 
wooden  tubes,  lined  with  lead  or  zinc,  in  and  through  which  they  were  to  be  laid. 
The  slow  matches  were  placed  in  different  parts  of  the  vessel,  and  connected 
with  the  powder  by  Gomez  fuses.  The 
tubes,  however,  proved  useless,  as  the 
matches  would  not  burn  in  them,  and  the 
latter  were,  therefore,  laid  without  them. 

Besides  these  means,  adopted  by  the  ord- 
nance officers,  Commander  Rhind  added  a 
third.  A  board,  slung  at  its  four  corners 
by  cords,  was  suspended  in  the  cook-house; 
and  in  it  were  set  five  pieces  of  candle,  cut, 
by  experiment,  to  burn  one  hour  and  three- 
quarters.  Into  the  bottom  of  each  candle 
was  inserted  a  Gomez  fuse-end,  and  these 
fuses  passed  out  into  the  powder-room  for- 
ward of  the  cook-house,  being  spliced  or 
married  into  every  line  of  fuse  which  they 
crossed. 

Finally,  to  make  the  explosion  a  cer- 
tainty, and  prevent  the  vessel  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy  in  case  of  the 
above  means  to  explode  her  failing,  a  fire 
was  laid  in  the  stern,  composed  of  tallow, 
turpentine,  cotton  waste  and  pine  wood. 
This  was  to  be  lighted  at  the  last  moment, 
and  was  to  be  so  arranged  that  the  flames 
might  not  reach  the  powder  until  the 
clocks  and  chandelier  should  have  had 
ample  time  to  aet. 

Lieutenant-Commander  Jeffers  asserts 
in  his  report  (see  Fort  Fisher  Expedition,  page  250)  that  it  was  proposed  to  use 
Beardslee's  electro-magnetic  machines  and  wires  to  explode  the  powder  ;  but 
that  that  proposition  ''was  not  favorably  considered  by  those  charged  with  the 
execution  of  the  plan." 

In  regard  to  this  assertion,  we  can  only  say,  that  the  first  hint  of  the  contem- 
plation of  any  such  plan  was  received  by  Commander  Rhind  on  reading  Mr. 
Jeffers's  statement  to  that  effect  in  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Conduct  of 
the  War.  Does  it  not,  in  the  face  of  this  fact,  seem  extraordinary  that  Mr.  Jeffers 
should  say  "those  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  plan"  were  opposed  to  the 
use  of  electricity  ?  The  subject  of  electricity  was  never  broached  to  any  of  the 
<barty  by  Mr.  Jeffers  or  any  other  person.  Had  it  been  proposed  to  them,  quite 
different  results  might  have  occurred.  Commander  Rhind  and  Mr.  Preston 
would  certainly  have  favored  the  idea.     But  neither  of  them  ever  heard  of  it. 

It  was  on  the  13th  of  December  that  the  powder-boat  was  finally  turned  over 
by  the  ordnance  officers,  and  taken  charge  of  by  Admiral  Porter.  A  temporary 
crew  was  placed  on  board  of  her,  and  she  was  towed  to  sea  by  the  steamer 
Sassacus,  Lieutenant-commander  Davis.     On  her  arrival  at  Beaufort,  she  was 


84.  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  [Jan. 

anchored  in  the  channel  near  Shackelford  banks.  Here  she  received  thirty  ad- 
ditional tons  of  powder,  making  the  total  amount  on  board  two  hundred  and  fif- 
teen tons.     This  was  all  the  vessel  could  safely  carry. 

Everything  being  now  in  readiness,  the  Louisiana  was  again  taken  in  tow  by 
the  Sassacus,  and  both  vessels  proceeded  toward  New  Inlet.  On  this  pas- 
sage an  instance  of  prompt  obedience  to  orders  occurred,  which,  as  showing  the 
state  of  discipline  in  the  squadron,  is  worthy  of  a  passing  notice.  We  will  let 
Commander  Rhind  tell  the  story.  It  must  be  premised  that  the  powder  party 
did  not  go  on  board  the  Louisiana  to  take  charge  of  her  until  she  arrived  off 
New  Inlet.  Until  then,  in  order  that  Commander  Rhind  and  his  party  should 
be  perfectly  fresh  'for  their  work,  a  temporary  crew  had  been  put  on  board. 
Commander  Rhind  says  : 

"  Davis  and  I  were  walking  on  the  hurricane  deck  of  the  Sassacus  ;  and  we 
concluded  that  we  would  make  better  progress  if  steam  were  gotten  up  on  the 
powder-boat.  The  boat  was  hailed,  and  the  order  giirento  get  up  steam.  A 
prompt  "Ay,  ay,  sir  "  being  returned  to  Captain  Davis'i  hail,  both  of  us  were  un- 
der the  impression  that  one  of  the  officers. on  board  was  an  engineer.  Some 
hours  after  the  order  was  given  and  the  powder-boat  observed  to  fire  up,  I  no- 
ticed that  steam  was  constantly  escaping  from  her  steam-pipe,  and  suggested 
to  Davis  that  he  should  hail  her,  and  direct  them  to  carry  less  steam.  Imagine 
our  astonishment  when  his  hail  received  the  reply  '  We  have  no  engineer  on 
board,  sir  ! '  They  had  promptly  obeyed  the  order,  and  started  the  fires  (al- 
ready prepared),  and  not  a  soul  on  board  able  to  start  the  engine !  This,  with 
two  hundred  and  fifteen  tons  of  powder  as  cargo,  was  somewhat  risky !  An 
engineer  was  very  quickly  dispatched  to  her,  and  we  then  kept  on,  the  powder- 
boat  using  her  screw  slowly." 

Admiral  Porter  had  prepared  a  plan  of  action  for  the  party,  which  was  as  fol- 
lows : 

The  gunboat  Kansas,  Lieutenant-Commander  Watmough,  was  to  bring 
Fort  Fisher  bastion  to  bear  W.  by  S.J^S.,  and  anchor,  in  nine  fathoms.  Mr. 
Bradford,  in  the  first  cutter  of  the  Kansas,  with  a  picked  crew,  was  to  pull  in  on 
that  bearing,  until  he  struck  two  fathoms,  when  he  was  to  anchor  and  show  a 
green  light  (shaded  from  the  enemy's  view),  which  was  to  be  the  signal  for  the 
Louisiana  and  her  consort  to  get  under  weigh.  They  were  then  to  proceed  in, 
steering  for  the  green  light.  When  they  arrived  abreast  of  Mr.  Bradford's 
anchorage  he  was  to  weigh  his  anchor  and  go  on  board  the  consort,  while  the 
Louisiana  was  to  continue  in  as  far  as  she  could  go.  The  consort  was  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  crew  of  the  powder-boat,  and  then  steam  to  a  place  of  safety. 

This  plan,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Louisiana  at  New  Inlet,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  alter.  In  the  first  place,  the  Nansemond,  which  had  been  selected  as 
the  consort  of  the  Louisiana,  did  not  arrive  off  New  Inlet  in  time.  Her  com- 
mander, Acting  Master  Porter,  had  been  selected  at  the  instance  of  Lieutenant 
Lamson,  who  had,  as  his  former  commander,  many  times  witnessed  his  coolness 
and  bravery.  But,  by  some  mistake,  Mr.  Porter  did  not  receive  his  instructions 
until  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  18th.  He  was  then  at  "Western  Bar,"  the 
western  entrance  to  Cape  Fear  river,  with  the  famous  Frying-pan  shoals  separ- 
ating him  from  New  Inlet.  To  go  around  the  shoals  (the  usual  way)  he  would 
have  to  steam  about  fifty  miles.  He,  trusting  to  his  knowledge  of  the  slues 
across  them,  ran  his  vessel  across  the  shoals,  risking  everything  to  arrive  in  time. 
But  he  was  too  late.  The  steamer  Wilderness,  which  had  been  used  by  Mr. 
Bradford  in  his  surveys  under  the  forts,  had  been  already  selected  and  prepared 
for  the  enterprise,  and  it  was  not  deemed  advisable  to  change. 


1870.]  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  85 

The  Louisiana  arrived  at  the  Kansas'  anchorage  at  a  quarter  to  eight  in  the 
evening.  A  consultation  was  immediately  held  on  board  the  Kansas  ;  and,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Captain  Watmough,  it  was  decided  to  change  that  part  of  the 
plan  proposed  by  the  Admiral  which  suggested  the  use  of  a  small  boat  and  her 
light  as  a  head  range.  It  was  thought  that  a  second  boat  would  only  embarrass 
the  movements  of  the  Wilderness,  that  it  was  very  doubtful  if  a  light  so  near  the 
surface  of  the  water  could  be  seen  from  any  great  distance,  and,  finally,  that  Mr. 
Bradford  could  be  of  much  more  service  on  board  the  Wilderness  than  in  a  boat. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  Wilderness,  with  a  few  exceptions,  were  re- 
moved to  other  vessels,  so  as  not  to  risk  more  lives  than  was  absolutely  necces- 
sary.  The  captain,  Acting  Master  Arey,  one  of  the  ensigns,  whose  name  the 
writer  has  not  been  able  to  obtain,  two  engineers,  Messrs.  Anderson  and  Robin- 
son, and  a  boat's  crew,  remained  on  board. 

As  the  sea  was  now  getting  up  rapidly,  the  final  preparations  were  hurried  to 
completion.  In  pursuance  of  the  new  plan  adopted,  the  Sassacus  now  took  up 
her  station  E.  by  N.J-^N.  of  the  Kansas,  and  anchored.  The  latter  now  showed 
a  white  and  green  light,  and  the  Sassacus  two  white  lights.  The  Wilderness,  at 
half-past  nine,  took  the  powder-boat  in  tow,  brought  the  lights  of  the  Kansas 
and  Sassacus  in  range,  and  Fort  Fisher  light  ahead,  and  stood  in  for  the  beach. 
Both  vessels  were  under  steam.  The  sea  was  now  very  heavy,  and  the  Louisiana 
wallowed  and  rolled  heavily.  At  ten  minutes  of  ten  the  lights  of  the  Kansas  and 
Sassacus  disappeared,  and  shortly  afterward  the  light  on  the  fort  was  extin- 
guished. Being  now  without  a  range,  and  the  flood  tide  setting  on  Federal  and 
Caro'ine  shoals,  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the  vessels  could  be  kept 
on  the  proper  bearing  ;  and  finally  it  became  evident  that  the  sea  was  too  heavy 
for  the  success  of  the  enterpiise.  It  was  breaking  heavily  in  two  fathoms.  Com- 
mander Rhind,  therefore,  decided,  on  consultation  with  his  officers,  to  turn  back, 
and  give  up  the  attempt  for  that  night.  In  this  decision  he  was  fortunate,  as, 
while  on  their  way  out  to  the  anchorage  of  the  fleet,  the  vessels  were  met  by  the 
Vance,  with  orders  from  the  Admiral  to  Captain  Rhind  not  to  go  in,  as  General 
Butler  thought  there  was  too  much  surf  on  the  beach  to  land  his  troops.  The 
Louisiana  was  accordingly  anchored,  and  Captain  Rhind  and  Mr.  Preston  joined 
the  party  on  the  Wilderness. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  plan  proposed  by  the  Admiral  had  been  followed,  except 
where  necessity  had  compelled  a  deviation  from  it.  But  now  that  the  party  had 
an  opportunity  for  consultation,  a  radical  change  was  made  in  several  parts  of 
the  programme — changes  suggested  by  their  experience  thus  far.  A  gale  of 
wind,  which  sprung  up  on  the  night  of  the  18th  and  continued  with  great  fury 
until  the  22d,  allowed  them  ample  time  to  consider  new  plans  and  modify  old 
ones,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  the  explosion  of  the  vessel  at  the  proper  time. 

Notwithstanding  the  care  with  which  the  secret  of  the  powder-boat  had  been 
kept,  some  "leaky  vessel"  had  allowed  it  to  escape.  The  whole  affair  was- 
known  at  Beaufort  before  the  arrival  there  of  the  fleet.  It  had  been  received 
from  Newbern,  between  which  place  and  Wilmington  illicit  communication  was- 
kept  up  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  prevent  it.  In  view,  therefore,  of  the  great 
probability  that  the  whole  affair  was  known  to  the  rebels,  it  was  necessary  that 
measures  should  be  adopted  by  the  powder  party  to  defeat  any  attempt  to  pre- 
vent the  consummation  of  the  enterprise. 

The  following  improved  plan  of  operations  was  accordingly  adopted,  and,  oa 
the  morning  of  the  20th  December,  was  submitted  to  the  Admiral. 

I.  The  Louisiana  was  to  be  taken  in  on  the  first  favorable  night.     A  suitable 
6 


86  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  [Jan. 

night  was  considered  to  be  one  with  a  hazy  atmosphere,  and  a  light  wind  on 
shore. 

II.  The  Wilderness  was  to  tow,  being  assisted  by  the  steam-power  of  the 
powder-boat. 

III.  The  course  should  be  W.  by  S.J-jjS.,  for  Fort  Fisher  light. 

IV.  On  her  arrival  at  the  proper  point,  the  Wilderness  was  to  signal  the 
Louisiana,  by  flashing  a  green  light  three  times,  and  immediately  casting  off  the 
tow-line.  The  Louisiana  was  then  to  steam  ahead,  to  her  own  position,  and  let 
go  an  anchor,  stoppered  at  thirty  fathoms. 

V.  The  proper  position  for  the  separation  of  the  two  vessels  was  to  be  de- 
cided by  Lamson,  Bradford  and  Bowen  on  the  Wilderness.  On  their  concur- 
rent opinions,  the  light  was  to  be  shown. 

VI.  The  proper  position  of  the  Louisiana  was  to  be  about  one  hundred  yards 
inshore  of  the  Wilderness,  if  the  depth  of  water  would  allow  her  to  get  thus  far. 
She  was  expected  to  swing  with  her  bow  off  shore — a  very  desirable  result— and 
to-obtain  which,  the  wind  must  be  light  from  the  N.  E. 

VII.  After  anchoring  the  Louisiana,  fires  were  to  be  at  once  hauled,  and 
Rhind  and  Preston  were,  personally,  to  start  the  clocks,  and  light  the  chandelier 
slow-match,  and  finally  the  fire. 

VIII.  All  having  been  completed,  the  cable-stopper  was  to  be  cut,  and  the 
party  were  to  leave  the  vessel  in  regular  naval  order,  that  is,  juniors  first.  They 
were  to  warp  themselves  alongside  of  the  Wilderness  by  a  line  attached  to  that 
vessel,  one  end  of  which  was  kept  in  the  boat.  The  cable-stopper  having  been 
cut  would  allow  the  vessel  to  drift  slowly  in  toward  the  shore  to  the  extreme 
length  of  her  cable  (ninety  fathoms)  which  it  was  expected  would  undoubtedly 
put  her  aground  close  to  the  beach. 

The  warp  line  was  to  be  used  to  avoid  the  noise  which  sometimes  unavoid- 
ably happens  in  handling  oars  ;  and  also  as  being  more  convenient  in  the 
crowded  state  of  the  boat. 

IX.  In  case  the  enemy  attempted  to  board,  the  Wilderness  was  to  attack  at 
once,  with  grape  and  canister.  To  the  arrangements  for  that  purpose,  and  the 
management  of  his  vessel  while  towing,  Acting  Master  Arey  was  to  give  all  his 
attention. 

X.  Should  the  fort  open  and  the  Wilderness  be  disabled,  and  should  all  ef- 
forts to  drive  off  the  boarders  fail,  and  the  capture  of  the  vessel  become  inevit- 
able— the  final  measures  should  be  adopted.  Mr.  Preston,  being,  in  view  of  this 
contingency,  stationed  in  the  lower  powder-room,  was,  upon  signal  from  Captain 
Rhind,  to  blow  up  the  Louisiana  to  insure  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  This 
was  to  be  done,  to  use  Preston's  own  words,  by  "  sticking  a  lighted  candle  into 
the  nearest  open  bag." 

XI.  The  signal  for  the  self-destruction  of  the  party  was  to  be  three  distinct 
and  measured  raps  on  the  deck,  to  be  given  by  Capt.  Rhind. 

The  Admiral  cordially  approved  of  the  above  plan  of  operations,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  tenth  and  eleventh  articles.  But,  being  told  that  these  had  been 
adopted  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  party,  he  reluctantly  assented  to  them  all. 

The  gale  continued  to  blow  with  great  fury  until  the  afternoon  of  the  22d. 
On  its  first  appearance,  the  transports  with  the  troops,  and  General  Butler  in  his 
flagship,  got  under  weigh  and  went  to  Beaufort,  from  which  place  they  did  not  re- 
turn until  the  24th.  The  Admiral,  however,  determined  to  ride  it  out,  and  did  so 
successfully  ;  but  the  position  of  the  party  on  the  Louisiana  was  unpleasant  in 
the  extreme.     She  wallowed  and  rolled,  and  dragged    the  Wilderness  almost 


1870.]  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  87 

down  to  the  fleet,  although  Capt.  Arey  let  go  all  the  anchors  he  had.  She  final- 
ly, cast  off  from  the  Wilderness,  and  was  taken  in  tow  by  the  Nansemond,  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  gale. 

After  the  gale  ceased,  the  sea  went  down  rapidly ;  and  the  night  of  the  23d 
was  clear  and  fine.  The  weather  was  quite  cold,  and  the  wind  light  from  N.  N. 
W.  This  was  a  very  unfavorable  wind,  as  the  vessel  would  probably  tail  off 
.  shore  when  anchored.  However,  the  Admiral  did  not  deem  that  objection  of  suffi- 
cient importance  ;  and,  besides,  it  was  thought  that,  the  wind  being  so  light,  she 
might  swing  to  the  flood  tide,  which  would  carry  her  directly  toward  the  beach  ; 
so,  as  he  had  determined  to  attack  on  the  24th  and  had  already  sent  word  to 
General  Butler,  he  ordered  Commander  Rhind  to  proceed  in  at  once,  and  blow 
up  the  vessel. 

Accordingly,  the  Wilderness  once  more  took  the  tow-line,  and  the  Kansas 
again  took  her  position  as  a  stern  range.  At  a  quarter  before  eleven  the  two 
•vessels  passed  the  Kansas  and  stood  in  shore  W.  by  S.J^S.,  running  slowly. 
At.  twenty  minutes  before  twelve,  fifty-five  minutes  after  leaving  the  Kansas,  the 
Wilderness  was  in  two  and  a  half  fathoms  of  water,  with  the  beach  and  the  em- 
brasures of  Fort  Fisher  plainly  discernible.  The  signal  was  now  made,  and  the 
Louisiana  steamed  in  unaided  to  her  station.  Slowly,  but  steadily,  she  ap- 
proached the  beach  ;  and  to  the  spectators  on  the  Wilderness  she  seemed  almost 
on  shore  before  she  anchored.  Arey  had  to  veer  out  nearly  two  hundred  fathoms 
of  line  to  the  boat  astern  of  her  before  she  brought  up.     Then  all  was  quiet. 

Those  were  solemn  moments.  Lamson  and  his  brother-officers  stood  aft  on 
the  hurricane  deck,  watching  with  eagerness  the  dim  outline  visible  in  shore  of 
them.  Arey's  faculties  were  absorbed  in  attention  to  his  guns,  which,  cast  loose 
and  ready  for  action,  opened  their  brazen  mouths  ready  to  belch  forth  grape  and 
shrapnel.  One  officer  stood  by  the  warp,  watching  for  the  welcome  strain  upon 
it.  Suddenly  a  broad  glare  of  light  shot  upward  ;  and  in  an  instant  the  powder 
boat  was  plainly  visible,  as  if  by  moon-light  !  It  was  a  moment  like  that  which 
comes  to  drowning  men  before  they  sink  for  the  last  time.  For  to  every  one  on 
board  the  Wilderness,  the  one  thought  occurred — "  The  fire  has  gotten  away  from 
them  !  "     The  next  instant,  destruction,  annihilation  was  expected. 

"Pooh!  "said  Lamson,  when  half  a  minute  had  gone  by  without  any  explo- 
sion ;  "  they  are  only  hauling  fires,  and  the  light  shines  through  the  canvas  of 
the  false  smoke-stack  !  " 

What  closed  the  eyes  of  the  sentries  on  the  beach,  and  the  garrison  in  the 
fort  puzzled  every  one.  The  rebel  newspapers  which  gave  an  account  of  the  ex- 
plosion, explained  this.  The  Louisiana  was  seen,  but  was  thought  to  be  a  gun- 
boat which  had  gotten  aground,  and  had  been  abandoned  and  set  on  fire.  It  was 
impossible  for  them,-  in  the  obscurity  of  the  night,  to  judge  of  her  distance  from 
the  beach  ;  and  as  several  of  our  small  tugs  had  at  times  during  the  history  of 
the  blockade  been  so  abandoned  and  blown  up,  the  glare  from  the  Louisiana  at- 
tracted no  particular  notice. 

Soon  the  light  was  extinguished,  and  all  was  dark  again.  The  night  had  be- 
come thick,  and  the  Louisiana  was  scarcely  discernible  from  the  deck  of  the 
Wilderness. 

Twenty  minutes  passed.  The  sentries  still  continued  their  walks  on  beach 
and  parapet,  and  their  challenges  were  occasionally  heard.  At  length,  Arey 
announced  "They  are  coming,"  and  soon  the  boat  and  her  crew  were  under  the 
quarter.  "  All  right"  was  the  word  from  Rhind,  as  he  came  on  deck  ;  and,  al- 
though orders  were  to  cast  loose  the  boat  and  let  her  go,  he  coolly  remarked  that 


88  STORY  OF  THE  POWDER-BOAT.  [Jan. 

she  "was  too  good  a  boat  for  the  rebels  to  have,"  and  ordered  her  hoisted  up. 
This  being  done,  "  Four  bells  !  "  was  the  word  to  the  engineer,  who  had  been 
bottling  up  his  steam  ;  and  the  Wilderness  darted  away  to  the  eastward  at  a 
speed  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour. 

In  obedience  to  the  Admiral's  instructions,  rockets  were  now  thrown  with 
great  rapidity  to  notify  him  that  the  powder-boat  had  been  duly  placed,  and  ar- 
rangements made  to  explode  her.  This  done,  the  party  joined  in  congratula- 
tions  on  the  success  of  the  affair  thus  far,  and  hopes  that  the  results  would 
equal  general  expectation. 

According  to  Commander  Rhind's  estimate,  the  Louisiana  had  been  anchored 
within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  beach.  It  was  hoped  that,  the  wind  being 
light,  she  would  swing  to  the  flood  tide,  with  her  stern  toward  the  shore.  But 
she  swung  head  to  wind  ;  so  that  she  had  to  be  securely  anchored  with  two 
anchors  and  short  scope  of  chain,  just  sufficient  to  hold  her  firmly. 

The  clocks  had  been  set  at  ten  minutes  to  twelve,  to  run  an  hour  and  a  half;, 
and  the  candles  of  the  chandelier  had  been  cut  to  burn  an  hour  and  three-quar- 
ters. The  Wilderness  hove  to  at -ten  minutes  to  one  on  the  morning  of  the  24th? 
and  awaited  the  explosion.  The  clocks  should  have  exploded  the  powder  at 
twenty  minutes  past  one,  and  the  chandelier,  at  twenty-five  minutes  before  two. 
But  it  was  not  until  twenty  minutes  to  two  that  the  explosion  took  place  ;  and 
by  that  time  the  after  part  of  the  vessefwas  wrapped  in  flames. 

At  that  moment  (1:40  A  M.)  a  huge  column  of  fire  rushed  straight  upward, 
four  loud  explosions  followed  at  intervals  of  about  half  a  second,  and  all  was 
darkness. 

Rhind  turned  to  his  officers  and  quietly  remarked,  "  There's  a  fizzle  !  "  and 
went  below.  In  fact  he  had  feared  all  along  that  the  arrangements  for  securing 
instantaneous  explosion  would  fail,  as  there  were  no  fuses  laid  in  the  great  mass 
of  the  powder  under  the  deck.  As  these  arrangements,  however,  had  been  made 
by  the  ordnance  -officers,  he  did  not  attempt,  on  his  own  responsibility,  to  alter 
them,  but  gave  his  whole  attention  to  carrying  out  the  directions  he  had  received 
with  the  utmost  carefulness. 

When  day  broke,  the  Wilderness  steamed  out  to  the  flag-ship,  on  board  of 
which  they  were  most  heartily  welcomed  as  men  risen  from  the  dead.  Indeed* 
the  Admiral  informed  Commander  Rhind  that,  when  they  bad  parted  the  pre- 
vious evening,  he  had  never  expected  to  see  any  of  the  party  again  in  life.  • 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  state  here,  what  has  been  for  a  long  time  so  well 
known  to  the  public,  that  the  explosion  failed  to  damage  the  works.  It  was  felt 
heavily  at  Wilmington,  a*nd  distinctly  at  Beaufort;  the  former  about  thirteen 
miles  from  the  forts,  the  latter  about  seventy.  A  rebel  officer  and  a  number  of 
his  men,  who  were  lying  on  the  ground  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  fort, 
declared  that  "the  explosion  jumped  them  about  like  pop-corn."  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  number  of  wooden  buildings  on  the  point,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  place  where  the  powder-vessel  was  blown  up,  were  not  even  injured. 

It  has  been  the  custom  to  refer  to  this  affair  as  "  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to 
blow  up  Fort  Fisher."  But  it  is  hoped  that  the  readers  of  this  article  will  care- 
fully discriminate  between  the  failure  to  obtain  certain  expected  results,  and  the 
failure  of  the  expedition.  The  expedition  did  not  fail ;  the  attempt  to  blow  up 
the  forts  did.  The  powder-vessel  was  placed  and  exploded  according  to  orders  ; 
and  the  failure  consisted  entirely  in  the  effects  of  the  explosion  not  fulfilling  the 
sanguine  expectations  of  the  projectors. 


00032744816 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


